What Should You Know Before Printing on Handmade Paper?

Handmade paper works beautifully with letterpress and foil stamping, but the irregular sheets require a few adjustments to artwork, quantities, and expectations. Below are the most common questions we get from clients.

Can I supply my own handmade paper?

Yes. We're always happy to print on paper supplied by our clients.

Because there are so many different paper makers and types of handmade papers, we welcome customer-supplied stock. You can ship it to us yourself, or have it sent directly from the supplier to save on shipping costs.

How much extra paper do I need to supply?

Plan for 30% extra sheets beyond your final quantity.

We need extra sheets for press setup and waste. For example, if your project calls for 100 finished 5x7 sheets, supply at least 130 sheets. Most handmade paper ordered from mills will include some unusable sheets as well, so this overage accounts for both production needs and natural variation in the paper.

What kind of print quality can I expect on handmade paper?

Most handmade papers take a beautiful, deep letterpress impression. Expect some natural variation from sheet to sheet.

Because each sheet is uniquely shaped and textured, there will be some variance in where the design lands on the paper. Designs with heavy ink coverage may look slightly different from print to print. This is part of the character of handmade paper — each piece is genuinely one of a kind.

Can you print digitally on handmade paper?

Yes, including full color and white ink on colored handmade papers.

We use high quality digital printers that handle handmade paper well. Since we hand-feed each sheet, we can only offer digital printing on handmade paper in smaller quantities — under 250 pieces.

How should I prepare artwork for handmade paper?

Provide vector artwork and leave at least 3/4 inch of gripper room on two connecting edges.

Just as with any project, we need vector files (AI, EPS, or PDF with embedded fonts). The key difference with handmade paper: your design needs gripper room — at least 3/4 inch on two connecting edges of the sheet. Handmade sheets come in their actual finished size and won't be trimmed down after printing, so the design needs to account for that.

What size envelopes work with handmade paper?

Standard envelope sizes usually work, but buy paper samples first and test the fit before ordering envelopes.

Most handmade paper comes in standard sizes like A7 (5" x 7") or A2 (4.25" x 5.5"). However, because handmade paper is irregular and often has deckled edges, sheets may not fit perfectly into standard-sized envelopes. We recommend ordering paper samples and testing them in your preferred envelope size. You may need to size up on the envelope.

What happens if my supplied paper gets damaged during production?

We take great care with customer-supplied paper, but our liability is limited to the invoice amount of your project.

We haven't had this happen yet, but we believe in being upfront about all scenarios. If customer-supplied paper is damaged during production, we are responsible up to the invoice amount of your project. This is another reason we recommend the 30% overage.

Where can I order handmade paper?

We recommend Sri Aurobindo, Fabulous Fancy Pants, and Porridge Papers — all suppliers we've had great results with.

• Sri Aurobindo — Wide selection of deckled edge papers in standard sizes
• Fabulous Fancy Pants — Beautiful handmade cotton papers
• Porridge Papers — Artisan papers with unique textures

You can ship the paper to us yourself, or have the supplier ship it directly to our shop to save on shipping.